1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to paperboard or corrugated paper trays and, in particular, to an adjustable width paperboard or corrugated paper tote tray.
2. Description of Related Art
Paperboard or corrugated paper trays are well known in the art and, in some cases, are known by the name “tote” trays. They are used for displaying packaged articles for sale and, because they are generally of a relatively small size, can be carried to various locations for display purposes
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,438 B1, such trays are normally of a fixed width and there is no way to vary the width of the tray. An expandable width tray is then disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,438 B1 ('438 patent).
However, in the '438 patent, there is not disclosed any manner of fixing the width of the tray at any selected width. It is true that the width can be adjusted but there is nothing disclosed in the '438 patent for holding the tray in any selected width position. The tray simply slides in and out of the tray support from a minimum width to a maximum width.
Adjustable length package product display units are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,102; U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,624; and in French Patent No. 2 639 913. However, none of these patents disclose means to fixedly hold the tray in any selected position. This, of course, means that the tray can inadvertently slide out of its selected position. This is not a desirable condition inasmuch as the tray can either slide entirely out of the tray support or it may slide to some position that would create a larger tray than the product it is intended to hold thus creating an untidy looking display. Further, if any undue pressure is applied to the front of the tray, it can be pressed in against the packaged product that has been placed in the tray.
A package product display box is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,019 that does enable the tray to be extended to some desirable position and then locked, or fixed, in that position. This is accomplished by forming a series of spaced orifices in both the tray support walls and the tray walls in aligned relationship. When the tray is extended to some desired position, the nearest two aligned orifices have a pin inserted in them and the tray is then locked in the desired position.
This product display box also has a significant disadvantage. If the pins are lost or misplaced, the display box is not able to be locked in the desired fixed position.
It would be desirable to have a tote tray having integrally formed interlocking means that can be used to lock the tray in any one of a plurality of extended positions without the requirement of pins or additional materials.